Aztec Newcomers: Winston Shepard

Shepard is a 6’8” guard from Fresno, Texas, who some say has the skills to be a first round NBA draft selection.

Winston Shepard is the highest rated recruit of Coach Steve Fisher’s tenure at SDSU. Shepard is a 6’8” guard from Fresno, Texas, who some say has the skills to be a first round NBA draft selection. Despite being such a tall guard, he handles the ball and passes well. The Aztec coaches figure he will help rebound from the guard position much like Kawhi Leonard did.

Roderick Rowan, a red shirt walk-on sitting out due to NCAA rules, had this to say about Shepard: “If you know anything about SDSU you know about Winston. The most highly recruited player, the next Jalen Rose etc. We all know about this stuff. He is a 6’8” point guard and wing. He does it all. What really stood out to me about him though is his creativity and passing ability. He and Matt [Shrigley] were on the same team the year that my team played Dream Vision [AAU basketball team], along with Shabazz Muhammad [UCLA] who is regarded as the number one recruit in the nation for 2012. When we were playing them I thought Winston was Shabazz. He was bringing up the ball, breaking down our defense and playing extremely unselfishly. He probably only ended up with 12 points but he had the most effect on the game out of anyone on his team. Shabazz was getting all of the hype, but Winston was driving his team.”

Shepard was involved in a small campus incident earlier this year during which officers found a small amount of marijuana in his car.